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May 11, 2020 
Nineteen people died and another 15 were injured as a result of the 'friendly fire' that hit the Iranian warship Konarak in the Gulf of Oman last night during an exercise: the Army announced.



The Iranian media say that the frigate Jamaran was testing a new anti-ship missile that hooked and hit Konarak, a support ship, instead of the target. According to the state TV site, the light support ship "Konarak was hit by a missile yesterday afternoon during a military exercise in the waters of Bandar-e Jask" off the southern coast of Iran. "The ship was hit after moving an exercise target to its destination and before creating enough distance between itself and the target." According to early unofficial reports, Jamaran - of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - launched the missile prematurely, without giving Konarak time to move away from a floating target he had towed to the designated position.



The Iranian navy has announced that the cause of the accident is being investigated. The "Konarak" was a light logistic support vessel produced in the Netherlands and purchased from Iran shortly before the 1979 Islamic revolution. The ship weighed 447 tons, was 47 meters long and was equipped with four cruise missiles, according to television of state.


It was not immediately clear how many crew members were on board the warship at the time of the accident. Iran and its arch enemy, the United States, have exchanged accusations over the past year for a series of incidents involving their forces in sensitive Gulf waters. The Tasnim news agency said in an English-language tweet that the Konarak sank after being hit by the missile launched by another Iranian warship.